


Different Kinds of Freedom

by Imagined



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Lesbians in Space, Sakaar (Marvel), Slavery, Space Flight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 05:00:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15988142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imagined/pseuds/Imagined
Summary: When Valkyrie finds an unconscious Gamora, she brings her to Sakaar to become a contender. Gamora's success works against Valkyrie, though; the Grandmaster wants her to find more contenders like Gamora, or risk falling out of favour. On a dangerous trip to find Gamora's home, the two women learn that they both are lost in different ways, and may find themselves in each other.





	Different Kinds of Freedom

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lesbiansassemble](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbiansassemble/gifts).



> written for [lesbiansassemble](http://www.lesbiansassemble.tumblr.com)'s wlw fic challenge, for which I chose the prompt ' _''I haven't been completely honest with you.''_ '. In hindsight, I kind of wandered away from the original prompt...
> 
> I still hope everyone enjoys!

Valkyrie wonders, sometimes, about what she’s doing on Sakaar. If she doesn’t ought to stop, find someplace else to crash. Every once in a while, she sees one of the warriors she caught die, big men and strong women who fought, and fought. Sometimes, one of them kills themselves, in the Grandmaster’s chains, or tries to run. A lot of people die on Sakaar, and Valkyrie wonders if any of them are her fault.

But then she remembers she can’t be permitted to care, drinks a bottle of beer, and forgets about everyone’s problems. It’s a cruel world, and she best remember that. A girl has to find a way to live, somehow.

This is her way.

She doesn’t even know how many people she’s enslaved for the Grandmaster’s games. Anyone who looks like they might be interesting, she takes. She’s stronger than most people think, looking at her, and taking people is a piece of cake. She only takes those who look lost, anyway – the lost causes, the forgotten souls. It’s her way of showing of mercy, even if others wouldn’t see it like that.

The woman that is lying in front of her, unconscious, is the perfect example of someone who looks lost.

Valkyrie regards her for a moment, hand ghosting over the holster of her gun, just in case. The green-skinned woman has long hair that trails over her bare shoulders. She’s wearing a leather get-up, and has multiple guns and swords on her. There’s no doubt in Valkyrie’s mind that she landed here by mistake; no one has any business in-between worlds, least of all women like these. Valkyrie sits down next to her, moving the hair behind the woman’s ear. Her eyes are closed, but there’s still some sort of grim look on her face. She’s beautiful, though.

Beautiful, and doubtlessly very dangerous. Valkyrie considers her some more, and then plants the shocker on her neck. This woman is a fighter, no two ways about it, and if she were awake, Valkyrie might have had a hard time taking her in. It’s a lucky day, for her; she already found a pretty boy that she thinks the Grandmaster will like, and now she’s found a contender.

She heaves the woman into her ship, and sets for Sakaar.

~*~

When Gamora wakes up, she doesn’t know where she is. It doesn’t happen, often; Gamora has been trained to be alert immediately, and she doesn’t remember falling asleep.

As she looks up, finding herself in a ship, she knows why that is.

Inwardly, she curses, as she takes in her surroundings. They’re flying above a very colourful city that Gamora doesn’t recognize. There’s a woman, somewhere above her, steering the ship. A few feet away, a guy with brown curls and big, blue eyes, is calmly sitting there, looking at the houses that they pass.

He’s not going to be a help, Gamora decides within a split second, and she focuses on the woman. Her skin is a beautiful colour, and she has a sort of grin on her face that classifies her as trouble-maker, in Gamora’s mind. There’s a half-empty bottle of alcohol standing next to her, and a few empty ones as well.

Just as Gamora decides to make a move for it, the woman speaks up. ‘’Ah-ah,’’ she says. ‘’Just stay down until we get there.’’

‘’Release me right now,’’ Gamora demands, but the woman hits a button on a small device she’s carrying around and Gamora goes down as she feels the electricity surge through her entire body.

‘’No, I don’t think so,’’ the woman says with a self-satisfied grin. Gamora glares at her, but doesn’t try to get up again.

~*~

The next time Gamora wakes up, she finds herself trapped in a chair. She struggles, but it’s impossible to get out, and she lets out a grunt of frustration.

She doesn’t remember how she got here. The last thing she remembers, in fact, is entering the ship of the Centaurian she had to kill. That was the mission Thanos had given her, and it hadn’t seemed anything remarkable at the time. Still, he must’ve managed to do something to her. That doesn’t explain how she ended up in that woman’s ship, though, or why she is stuck to this chair now.

She goes through some sort of tunnel, and she wants to huff at the ridiculousness of it all, until she ends up face to face with a man with an ageless sort of face, looking at her thoughtfully.

‘’Hello there,’’ he says.

And that’s how she becomes a contender.

~*~

Hours pass into days. Days pass into weeks. 

Gamora stops believing that anyone will come for her – even if Thanos is interested in getting back a daughter who failed, she’s starting to understand that Sakaar isn’t the kind of place that is found. It’s the kind of planet that is lost, and that has found itself. The epicentre of unloved, unwanted objects; she’s starting to see how that works.

At the start, they had her fighting only a few of the weaker contestants. They didn’t know who she was, after all. Gamora doesn’t know if it’s a smart move to let the Grandmaster in on her abilities, but these contests are brutal. Face to face with another warrior who merely wants to live another day, she’s had to put some of her contestants down remorselessly. 

She hates this game. Gamora doesn’t have issues with sliding a knife along a man’s neck until all the blood has left the body – she can’t have, considering where she comes from – but that doesn’t mean she enjoys it. Killing, she has always believed, is a tool used to be when necessary. It’s not entertainment, it’s not anything worth applauding her for. She doesn’t mind killing, but she detests the feeling of yet another dead body under her. It’s for nothing, and it’s useless.

And yet, Gamora keeps fighting, just so she can live another day.

~*~

‘’You know I think your contenders are all amazing,’’ the Grandmaster says, as he twiddles with his hands. It’s almost a nervous tick, if Valkyrie didn’t know for certain that the Grandmaster doesn’t actually get nervous. ‘’Marvellous. But lately, they’ve been all a bit disappointing, you know? Since you brought that woman contender, the rest of them have been, well, quite dead. I don’t know where you got her from, but I’d really like another.’’

‘’I don’t know if I can do that, Grandmaster,’’ she says, watching him carefully. One never knows with the Grandmaster; he likes her, she knows that, but maybe that’s not enough to keep her safe from his ever-changing wiles.

His expression doesn’t change, but he tilts his head a bit. ‘’You wouldn’t let me down, right, Scrapper 142? You always bring me the nicest gifts. I just want another one, so we can challenge our lovely Contestant a bit. Maybe just find out where she is from?’’

Valkyrie nods. If the Grandmaster wants something, that’s what he’ll get. Her life in Sakaar depends on it, and as far as she’s concerned, that’s the only life she has.

~*~

The Grandmaster doesn’t have cells. He doesn’t believe in it, he says, but Valkyrie thinks that’s about the same thing as calling the slaves he holds ‘prisoners with jobs’ – it’s just a fancy way of covering up the reality of Sakaar. 

The reality of Sakaar is that everyone is enslaved to it, whether you’re a contender or not. Valkyrie is as much a slave to it as everyone else – her entire life is here, her relief, her alcohol. This place is her way to leave behind her past, but it’s also a cage for her future. She knows she’ll never amount to anything of value here; she just tries not to care about that. It has worked pretty well for her, so far.

So when she sees the green-skinned woman sitting on the large bed, her clothes comfortable and her fridge fully stocked with food, Valkyrie isn’t surprised. This woman is one of the best contenders Sakaar has seen in a long time, and it’s common knowledge that the Grandmaster takes good care of his most achieving pets.

The woman snaps up when she sees Valkyrie, her body tensing as if readying itself for a fight, but Valkyrie holds up her device. ‘’One wrong movement, and you’re on the ground,’’ she threatens lightly, her thumb hovering over the button of the obedience disk.

The woman stills, but her dark eyes follow Valkyrie with an intensity that she rarely encounters. Once again she is overcome by the beauty and grace the contender radiates, but she ignores it. She isn’t here to be distracted by a very dangerous woman’s looks, but to find another contender, so she gets more money. More money means more booze, and more booze means more nights spent in restful slumber. 

‘’What?’’ the woman asks. Her hair waves along her shoulders, and Valkyrie wonders at how someone so beautiful can be so dangerous. She’s seen some of the fights; she knows this woman knows how to take care of herself. She’s seen her take down opponents of twice her size. Valkyrie isn’t afraid to take her on, should it come to that, but she knows it wouldn’t be easy.

Valkyrie goes for a smirk. ‘’Can’t I just want to talk to one of the most successful contenders that Sakaar has seen in years?’’ she asks, and leans against the wall.

The woman stares at her as if she’s gone insane. ‘’You’re unbelievable,’’ she spats. ‘’You’re the entire reason I’m in this hellhole, and now you’re going to make fun of it? Is this all just a game to you? Oh, what am I even saying, of course it is. No one in here has any idea of morals at all, of course!’’

Valkyrie raises her eyebrows. ‘’You didn’t seem to have a lot of problems killing your opponents.’’

‘’I didn’t do it for _fun_!’’ the woman protests, and she stands up. The bed creaks slightly as she walks in a straight line towards Valkyrie. She’s angry, and Valkyrie holds her breath for a moment. She has the darkest eyes, this woman, and Valkyrie can see her own reflection for a moment before she attempts to tackle her to the ground.

Valkyrie grabs the woman’s arm on instinct, and pushes her against the wall, but she responds by kicking swiftly behind her, hitting Valkyrie’s stomach.

She hits the button, even as she gasps for breath. ‘’That was just rude,’’ she says, as she watches the woman lie on the ground with her eyes closed, letting the pain pass through her. ‘’I’m not here for you, whatever you may think. I’m here for _me_ , but I just need to know a few things. What’s your name?’’

‘’Why should I tell you?’’ the woman glares at her, but Valkyrie waves around with her device again.

‘’This can be a very long night,’’ she says. ‘’I don’t care what happens to you, either way. You have a contest in a few hours, right? So you should probably save your strength, and not fight someone who can have you lying on the ground within seconds. Sounds like the smart thing to do.’’

The woman heaves a sight, before sitting up against the wall. ‘’Gamora,’’ she then says silently. ‘’My name is Gamora.’’

‘’Alright,’’ Valkyrie says easily. ‘’Now then, Gamora, I need to know where you’re from, and if they’re all able to fight like you.’’

Gamora snickers. ‘’Where I’m from? Believe me, you don’t want to know. Why do you even ask?’’

‘’Because the Grandmaster wants contenders,’’ Valkyrie says. She doesn’t care enough to lie – why should she? Gamora isn’t going to be able to stop her, whether she wants to or not. She can refuse to cooperate, of course, but it’s not like Valkyrie can make up a lie that will make the woman work with her.

Gamora regards her with an unreadable look. ‘’You can’t go where I’m from,’’ she says. ‘’It’s a dangerous place, one of the darkest in the galaxy.’’

‘’Well then, you must be glad I brought you here,’’ Valkyrie retorts. ‘’I can handle myself. It’s easier if you tell me.’’

‘’I can’t tell you where it is,’’ Gamora says, crossing her arms. ‘’It’s not on a place that’s on a map. It’s only known to those who live there, and believe me, you’re not going to come across one of them and remain alive. So, no, I can’t tell you. But I can show you.’’

‘’Nice try,’’ Valkyrie laughs. ‘’So I’ll let you out of here? Is that what you’re thinking to do?’’

‘’You still have that thing,’’ Gamora says, nodding her head at the device. ‘’I get a few days free from the contests. I’ll try for a few escape attempts, and you seem to be sure enough you’ll be able to take me. So what’s the downside for you?’’

Valkyrie shakes her head a bit, trying to stop laughing. ‘’You’ve got yourself a deal,’’ she says.

Gamora smirks.

~*~

Gamora has a plan, of course.

She isn’t the galaxy’s most feared assassin for nothing. Getting away from here is the first priority; making sure it’s not back into Thanos’ hands is her second. She isn’t exactly keen to go back to her adoptive father, and as unfortunate as these events are, this is the most unlikely place for Thanos to find her. From her on, she can drop off the radar.

She just has to steer the woman who caught her into the right direction. Gamora hardly cares what happens to her. If she gets close enough to Thanos, he might kill her. If she manages to escape before they get there, then that’s also good.

Even if the feeling that, maybe, the woman is a lot more like Gamora than she thought starts nagging at her. Even if she’s growing curious about the story that is bound to be behind those dark eyes. Gamora won’t be persuaded. She won’t.

~*~

The Grandmaster trusts her, and that’s the only reason Valkyrie is allowed to take Gamora with her. Of course, there’s some suspicions – mainly coming from Topaz – about it, but she assured the Grandmaster that she took Gamora originally, and she’ll bring her back too.

Now it’s just the question whether Valkyrie can trust Gamora. She’s not sure, but she has the shocking device, and she’s willing to try. If it doesn’t work out, she’ll get back to Sakaar.

They’re sitting together in Valkyrie’s ship, Gamora’s hands bound. The green-skinned woman is looking out of the window, silently, but Valkyrie doesn’t mourn the absence of mindless chatter. ‘’Where to?’’ she just asks.

Gamora’s eyes focus on her for a mere second before she looks back to the window. ‘’First, go to darkest and foulest place you can find,’’ she says, her voice low and calm. ‘’And then, ask the locals where they’re afraid to go.’’

Valkyrie looks straight ahead, and doesn’t comment.

~*~

She does as Gamora says, and follows to the direction the toughest and worst people she can think of point her to. They tell her not to go, and whenever she comes back to her ship after having asked for directions, she can feel Gamora’s eyes on her.

It would be enough to make her shiver, but Valkyrie’s seen enough bad things in the world to be able to face wherever she’s going. She has already lost everything; there’s nothing that could happen to her that would scare her.

~*~

They’ve been travelling for two days when Gamora first speaks.

‘’Why are you doing this?’’ she says.

‘’What?’’ Valkyrie responds as eloquent as she can.

Gamora raises an eyebrow, and Valkyrie pushes away the thought of how attractive she is. Gamora is unlike anyone she knows, and in another life, maybe they could have been friends. ‘’Why are you doing this?’’ Gamora repeats. ‘’I don’t know anything about you. We could be here for a while. We might as well pass the time _talking_ , if we can’t do anything else.’’

‘’ _You_ can’t do anything else,’’ Valkyrie says. ‘’I can drink.’’

‘’At least tell me your name.’’

Valkyrie looks over, only for a second. Gamora is watching her intently, her dark hair waving over her shoulders. She shouldn’t look so attractive, but she is. ‘’I don’t have a name.’’

‘’Everyone has a name,’’ Gamora says. 

‘’I’m Scrapper 142,’’ Valkyrie says curtly. ‘’That’s all I am, now.’’

Gamora is silent, for some time, and Valkyrie wonders if she lost interest in the conversation. She wonders why that idea makes something in her sting. She shouldn’t have worried, though; the other woman’s voice echoes through the ship again. ‘’So who were you before?’’

‘’I don’t know what you’re talking about,’’ Valkyrie says.

‘’That’s all you are now, you say. A scrapper. I think you used to be something else, and something happened. So I want to know who you were before.’’

‘’Why do you even care?’’ she responds. ‘’We all got our own issues, so maybe you should try focusing on yours. We’re not friends, we’re not anything, so why should you want to know anything about _me_?’’

‘’Because I think no one has asked you in a long time,’’ Gamora says, and there’s something tender in her voice. ‘’I come from a place that’s full of broken people, and you remind me of them. Of me, maybe. And here you are, bringing me back to that place because you need to get paid, I’m guessing. To survive another day.’’

‘’You don’t actually want to go back to your home,’’ Valkyrie says as realization dawns on her.

Gamora shrugs. ‘’No. I don’t. And I don’t think you really want to go back to Sakaar, either.’’

Valkyrie doesn’t say anything. Sakaar isn’t home, but it is relief, and a constant that she’s grown used to having. Is she _happy_ , there?

She doesn’t really know what happy feels like, anymore. But she feels numb there, and that’s the next best thing. She doesn’t really care what happens to her, so Sakaar will do just fine. Sakaar’s her future, her place to die, and she has always known that. She’s always accepted that.

‘’I was one of the Valkyrie,’’ she says out loud for the first time in centuries. For the first time since she left Asgard with a heart that had lost the feeling of loyalty and gained the pain of her king’s betrayal. 

Gamora nods. It’s obvious she’s heard of the female warriors of Asgard before. ‘’You still are.’’

‘’No,’’ Valkyrie says. ‘’Now I’m the only Valkyrie.’’

~*~

They talk, and Gamora is still endlessly surprised by that fact. Valkyrie is rough, and in a constant state of being tipsy, and more sarcastic than Gamora is used to from people. Still, she’s opened up a bit. Maybe it’s because there’s not much else to do than talk, but she finds that she actually likes her kidnapper.

Of course, Valkyrie’s dark hair and intense eyes don’t help. Gamora hasn’t bothered a lot with relationships, but her heart can’t help but start beating faster whenever Valkyrie sends her a particularly penetrating look.

She knows about the Valkyries, but she can’t remember the details. She knows they’re gone, and that it’s been centuries since they were the sole defenders of Asgard, but she can see that whatever happened to them, it’s broken Valkyrie. There can’t be much else of a reason for her to have been in Sakaar all this time, staying in the place for the lost and found. Lost, yes, but Gamora doubts whether Valkyrie has really found herself ever again.

She wonders if she has found herself. She’d been on a mission for Thanos, when she got captured, but Gamora wanted to leave her adoptive father before that. She hadn’t dared to, but maybe this is a good step.

Except that Valkyrie is leading them towards him, not knowing that Thanos will easily kill her without a second thought for taking Gamora.

Gamora has to control her breathing at the thought. She and Valkyrie aren’t friends, exactly, but there’s _something_ , here. She doesn’t want to go back to Thanos; she doesn’t want Valkyrie to die. What they’re doing is against both of their goals, and Gamora wishes she could tell her to turn back, turn _anywhere_. She can’t try to escape before they get there, anymore; she wants to help Valkyrie, feels the need of it in her very bones.

She doesn’t think Valkyrie will listen, though.

~*~

‘’I haven’t been completely honest with you,’’ Gamora says, the next day.

Valkyrie turns her head to look at her. ‘’About what?’’ she asks uncertainly. ‘’Gamora?’’

‘’We have to go back,’’ she insists. ‘’I told you before that I was going to do some escape attempts, you’d stop me, all of that. It’s a lie. If we arrive, my father will kill you. It doesn’t matter how fast you are, or how strong you are, Valkyrie. He will kill you, and he will take me. And I didn’t care, but you were right. I don’t want to go back.’’

‘’I can’t go back to Sakaar now,’’ Valkyrie says. ‘’Not without someone else. The Grandmaster likes me, but he doesn’t care that much. If I go back, he’ll evaporate me. Maybe you, too, just out of spite.’’

‘’Listen to me,’’ Gamora says. ‘’Have you ever heard about the Mad Titan?’’

Valkyrie huffs. ‘’That’s a myth.’’

‘’No, he’s not. He’s my father, and everything you heard is true. He’s a madman, Valkyrie. I know you have no reason to believe me – but I trust you, alright? I think you’re more than a scrapper. You’re more than a lackey to the Grandmaster and his schemes. We’re here now, and we’re not with Thanos yet. We can leave, and be unharmed.’’

‘’And then?’’ Valkyrie scoffs. ‘’I set you free somewhere and let you go your merry way?’’

Gamora sighs. She has to get her to believe her. She stands up, and walks toward Valkyrie. The other woman just stares at her, but the controlling device is visible. It’s clear who is in power here. ‘’I’m not heartless,’’ Gamora says. ‘’We’re both slaves, we both were long before we met. We don’t have to be anymore; we could hide. Together, if you want to.’’

She crouches, and Valkyrie’s face is right before hers. It’s close enough for Gamora to count her eyelashes, to feel the warm breath of the other woman ghosting on her face. She hasn’t ever been this close to anyone, and she feels exhilarated, even despite the seriousness of the conversation.

Kissing Valkyrie isn’t something she meant to do, but when she does, something clicks. Valkyrie kisses back, her hands finding their way into Gamora’s hair, and she presses them closer together.

‘’Please,’’ Gamora says, as they break apart, and her voice cracks.

Valkyrie distances herself from Gamora, watching her with those dark eyes. Gamora doesn’t know what to make of the expression on her face.

‘’I can’t,’’ Valkyrie says.

~*~ 

Gamora expects Valkyrie to be cold and distant, the next day. Instead, Valkyrie talks.

‘’I was in love with someone, when I was still in Asgard,’’ she says. ‘’She loved me back. We were always together, and I thought we always would be. But then the universe showed me how cruel it really is, and how cruel people are. She died, like everyone else did, and only I survived. Love isn’t forever, and it’s definitely not the end to the story. I found Sakaar, where I could be something else instead.’’

‘’A slaver?’’ Gamora says bitterly.

Valkyrie shrugs. ‘’That. And I could be empty. No one would tell me I could be more, or that I could leave, or that I could rebuild myself. No one cared. So I gained favour with the Grandmaster, and here I am.’’

‘’Out of favour, and out of luck,’’ Gamora says. ‘’Maybe it’s time to try it someplace else.’’

Valkyrie smiles grimly. ‘’I thought you were different,’’ Valkyrie says. ‘’You seemed to care. But you only want to find a way to get what you want.’’

‘’I want _us_ to escape,’’ Gamora answers urgently. ‘’Valkyrie, I’m not trying to trick you. I don’t want you to die. You’re – you’re wonderful.’’

‘’You don’t know me.’’

Gamora tries again. ‘’I do know you, because you’re like _me_. We’re fighters. We’ve lost our families. Thanos killed mine, when I was a child, and took me. He taught me to be this, but I can be more, and so can you. I refuse to go back to him, Valkyrie. Do you really want to go back to the Grandmaster?’’

‘’You don’t understand,’’ Valkyrie says. ‘’I already lost someone I love. Love isn’t convenient, and I don’t want it. I don’t want you acting as if you care about me, I just want to go back to Sakaar and drink enough so that I can sleep without dreaming.’’

Gamora stays silent, for a while. ‘’I do care,’’ she says, eventually.

Valkyrie doesn’t respond, and keeps steering.

~*~

‘’We’re here,’’ Valkyrie says. Gamora, in the seat behind her, wakes with a shudder, looking around with a haunted look in her eyes. Valkyrie suddenly wonders if she really has chosen the right path, and then shakes away her doubt. ‘’This is definitely the darkest corner of the galaxy I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of dark corners.’’

She isn’t looking for a love story, or redemption. She just wants to go back to her normal, and forget about the beautiful woman that kissed her only recently. She doesn’t want to have options, or fall in love. It’s easier to go back to Sakaar and live in the constant bliss of drunkenness. 

She doesn’t ask herself if that’s also the right choice. She doesn’t want choices, after all.

Gamora looks around, a pained expression on her face. ‘’Val, please,’’ she says, and the nickname surprises her. It’s been years since anyone called her anything but ‘Scrapper 142’. She hadn’t realized that she actually missed it, a living, breathing being beside her, knowing her by name.

She shakes it off. ‘’This is what you wanted,’’ she says.

Gamora shakes her head. ‘’I never wanted this,’’ she answers. ‘’Your plan isn’t going to work. Please. What do I have to do to get you to turn this ship around?’’

Valkyrie opens her mouth, and she doesn’t know what she’s going to say when a loud noise in the back of the ship surprises them both. She isn’t near any planets, yet, and there aren’t any ships visible on her radar. ‘’What is that?’’ she says, and grabs the closest gun she can reach.

‘’Give me a weapon,’’ Gamora snaps at her. ‘’Val, please.’’

Valkyrie hesitates for a moment, but then hands her companion a knife. She doesn’t know where the trust comes from, but if there’s a choice between whatever just landed on her ship or the woman beside her, she’s always going to choose to side with Gamora.

She doesn’t know why the thought of Gamora being injured makes her uneasy, and it’s hardly the time to think on it.

There isn’t any sound for a few minutes, and it’s almost enough to make Valkyrie lower her gun. That’s exactly when her alarms go off, as the back of her ship is violently ripped open. In a reflex she activates the back shield so that they won’t all get sucked into the dark space, and misses the entrance of the blue-skinned woman, partially made up of mechanical components. 

‘’Nebula!’’ Gamora shouts, and that’s when the blue cyborg comes at Valkyrie with a shout and two long blades.

Valkyrie only just manages to evade her and nimbly turns to hit the woman – Nebula? – in the back with her gun. She lets out a shout, but doesn’t go down, and neatly tries to slice open Valkyrie’s belly once again.

Valkyrie manages to kick her and Nebula goes flying behind, but she doesn’t stay down for long, gearing up to attack Valkyrie with a warrior’s cry.

She has just loaded up her weapon, ready to shoot, when Gamora jumps between the two of them, only armed with her knife. Both Valkyrie and Nebula promptly stop, and the three of them stare at each other for a few seconds.

‘’Why are you protecting her?’’ Nebula says, voice dangerously low. 

‘’Who is she?’’ Valkyrie protests. Her gun is still loaded and ready to go, but when Gamora shoots her a dark glance, Valkyrie lowers it.

‘’She is bringing me back to Thanos,’’ Gamora says, and Valkyrie immediately sees the lie as what it is; she’s trying to protect Valkyrie. ‘’She’s not a threat to us, Nebula. Please, don’t harm her.’’

Nebula seems to be suspicious, but lowers her weapons as well. ‘’Where were you?’’ she asks.

‘’I’m not certain,’’ Gamora says. ‘’I don’t remember anything after entering the ship of my target – he must have expected something. I woke up on a planet I don’t know, and I was there ever since, until Val found me and offered to take me back.’’

‘’Gamora, I need to talk to you,’’ Valkyrie says, slowly. ‘’In private.’’

Private means as close to the back of the ship as they can get while Nebula stares at them. She looks at the hole in the back of her ship, as they’re only saved by the generation shield. For now, they’re still in space, but she doesn’t know how long they will hold out like this. ‘’Who is she?’’ Valkyrie asks impatiently. ‘’And why is she here?’’

Gamora huffs, looking away. Her long hair trails over her face, and Valkyrie doesn’t know why she carefully brushes it out of Gamora’s face and tucks it behind her ears. None of her feelings seem to be easy to explain, anymore. Gamora only looks at her gently, though, and doesn’t comment on the sudden action.

‘’Nebula is my sister,’’ she explains. ‘’Well, my adoptive sister. Thanos, he takes children, and trains them into assassins. I grew up with her, but we’re not necessarily very close. It’s… complicated.’’

‘’You care about her?’’ Valkyrie presses.

Gamora smiles wryly. ‘’I do,’’ she says. ‘’She’s very loyal to our father, so she will want to bring us to Thanos.’’

Valkyrie has another idea. If she manages to get a shocker on Nebula’s neck, she’ll have yet another contender to bring to the Grandmaster. It’s clear that Nebula would do very well on Sakaar; she has the right attitude for a vicious contender, and it would bring Valkyrie enough money to last for another two months. 

She thinks about it, for a moment, lets herself imagine what would happen. She thinks of the betrayal Gamora would wear on her face, how the other woman would refuse to ever speak to her if she brought her and her sister back to fight on Sakaar.

It would be the logical choice to lie to Gamora and bring them back to Sakaar. Valkyrie could go back to being numb instead of alive, and her existence could persist as it always had.

She thinks of Gamora’s smile. _I haven’t been completely honest with you_ , Gamora had told her, and then told her everything. Valkyrie believes her, now; she doesn’t know what has happened to the woman standing opposite her, but she can make some guesses. It’s Valkyrie’s turn to decide if she’s going to be honest or not. To decide if she’s going to make a plan with Gamora and hold her promise, or if she’s going to be what she learnt to be on Sakaar.

Valkyrie holds Gamora’s gaze for a long few seconds. ‘’What is your plan?’’ she asks.

~*~

It takes some team work to get them to a planet where they can fix Valkyrie’s ship. It’s still quite a way to Thanos – fortunately, for their plan – and while the damaged ship is still able to fly for a while, it’s not ideal. Even Nebula had consented to that, and had allowed them to park on a large grimy planet that’s filled with cities with buildings reaching so far in the sky that they’re barely visible and garbage belts the size of several smaller planets. All in all, it’s not a place Gamora means to visit anytime soon again.

Valkyrie walks besides Gamora. Nebula is a few feet before them, snarling at the civilians. They don’t seem very impressed; living in this part of the galaxy means that the civilians are usually also criminals. ‘’Wait,’’ Valkyrie mutters, and takes the device that controls Gamora’s shocker out of her bag. With a swift movement, Valkyrie removes the shocker from Gamora’s neck and puts it back in her pocket. It feels like freedom; Gamora rubs over the skin the little device had been the last few months.

‘’Thank you,’’ she says. Valkyrie just smiles and starts walking again.

‘’I’ll stay with Nebula to find someone to fix the ship,’’ Valkyrie says softly, so that Nebula won’t overhear. ‘’You go buy a new ship. I don’t have enough credits to make both happen, so be quick about buying it – I’m not above stealing, either. That new ship is our ticket out of here.’’

The plan is relatively simply, but it’s the best Gamora had managed to come up with in such a short notice; she’s already glad that Valkyrie has consented to it. She hadn’t been sure she had managed to convince the other woman of her sincerity, but something in their relationship seems to have shifted.

They’ve convinced Nebula that the ship needs to be repaired, so that’s what they’re going to keep pretending. In the meanwhile, Gamora has to sneak off and find a new ship for her and Valkyrie to get away in. The only problem is going to be keeping Nebula unaware of what’s going on.

She trusts Valkyrie though, maybe more than she should. She can’t not, as Valkyrie slips her hand into hers as they’re walking together. 

~*~

While Valkyrie is talking to a few engineers, Nebula approaches Gamora. ‘’Sister,’’ she says. ‘’Do you… like that woman?’’

Gamora raises her eyebrows. ‘’I don’t care about her,’’ she lies. As bad as she feels for lying to Nebula, her sister’s loyalties lie with Thanos, and she knows it. Hopefully, one day Nebula will realize what kind of person their father is and join her, but the stakes are too high now. ‘’She is a ride home. She’ll be useful to us, yet. It’ll be the least hassle to go repair her ship.’’

‘’We could steal one and leave her here,’’ Nebula says, focused on Gamora. ‘’Go home without the extra baggage.’’

Gamora stills. ‘’We may need her yet,’’ she says.

‘’Need her?’’ Nebula repeats incredulously. ‘’Are you out of your mind?’’

‘’You don’t know her as I do,’’ Gamora hisses. ‘’She may be of use to Thanos. She’s certainly a better ally than Ronan. And if she’s not, father will deal with her. Just go with her and fix her ship – don’t harm her, Nebula. Thanos will decide her fate, as he does ours. I will get food, so we won’t have to make another stop.’’

Nebula just glares at her, but doesn’t say anything. Gamora knows that pulling the Thanos-card is the surest way to make sure her sister cooperates.

That’s another crisis diverted. Nebula leaves with Valkyrie to fix the ship, and Gamora leaves to find another way to leave the planet.

~*~

Valkyrie doesn’t talk to Nebula as they check the engineers who are actually capable of fixing her ship. Gamora’s sister messed it up pretty badly, and some heavy tools are needed that not everyone on this planet can offer. The problem is that the repair fees of those who can are far higher than anything Valkyrie can even pretend to pay, and they know it.

It’s a buff guy standing behind the counter, his arms crossed. Still, he’s definitely not the biggest guy they’ve seen walking around here, and he’s also not the biggest guy Valkyrie has ever beaten. ‘’Look, you’re going to repair my ship, or we’re going to make sure you’ll have to do some repairs of yourself,’’ she hisses at the guy. He seems unimpressed.

‘’Don’t threaten me, lady,’’ he says. ‘’Trashing my shop will only land you in trouble you don’t want to find, and you don’t have a ship to flee in.’’

‘’Listen to me,’’ Nebula says, suddenly stepping in. She grabs the guy by his neck and lifts him without an effort. ‘’If you don’t fix the ship, I will not hesitate to skin you alive and sell it to one of these weird freak shows outside so we can pay someone else to repair our ship. If you think we need to flee, you need to think again.’’

‘’You make a compelling point,’’ the guys says nervously as he’s up in the air, and Nebula sets him down with a satisfied smirk.

‘’That’s what I thought,’’ she says, and gives Valkyrie a pointed look.

It’s pretty brutal, but it’s also efficient, and she doesn’t see any fault with it as the intimidated repair man follows them to their ship.

~*~

There’s not a lot for them to do, so Valkyrie sits back on the ground as four men work on her ship. Nebula keeps walking around it, and she suspects it makes them do their work a lot faster. Valkyrie is rather impressed with Nebula’s abilities, but it gives her also a nagging sense of unease. Nebula is like a brainwashed soldier; everything she does is with a methodical precision and remorseless practicality that reminds her of some soldiers she’s seen. Some of her Valkyrie sisters had had it too; that drive to do anything for their king. Valkyrie knows that is dangerous, because it made them more into robots than conscious beings with a moral compass of their own. 

Gamora isn’t like this, and Valkyrie wonders if she ever was. Gamora does have a code, and she cares, and Valkyrie is only realizing now that she needs someone like that. She needs someone to remind her to be kinder, someone that sees the value of life. Someone who can hold her back, someone who can hold her own.

She desperately wants to go with Gamora, all of a sudden, feels the need to be with the other woman aching in her chest. She isn’t sure how she ever wanted to stop feeling this, because for the first time in centuries, she feels like she’s waking up.

~*~

Gamora isn’t feeling very patient, today. She’s spoken to three salesmen about buying a ship with Valkyrie’s credits, but all of them laughed in her face. It’s taken up the better part of an hour, mainly because the second guy she’d talked to had first spent a long time questioning her about what she wanted before informing her that she would never be able to buy one of his ships.

She’s not some woman to be mouthed off to. She has tried to be patient, but all in all, she’s an assassin, and a very good one at that. She fights for a living and she steals whenever it’s convenient for her. So that’s what she does – she goes back to the second salesman, because he pissed her off the most, and steals a ship.

It’s not a huge ship. He probably won’t miss it. It’s luxurious, though, and big enough for two women to live in comfortably for a while. Gamora takes the wheel, and smiles to herself.

~*~

Valkyrie sees Gamora hurrying back, and meets her halfway, so Nebula won’t see her sister. ‘’Got it?’’ she asks.

Gamora nods, a smile slipping onto her face. Valkyrie finds it hard to breathe, suddenly.

‘’You might want to get on it right now, I had to steal it,’’ she says. ‘’Where did you leave Nebula?’’

‘’She’s screaming at the workmen,’’ Valkyrie says, shrugging.

Gamora tilts her head, her gaze far away as it searches for her sister. ‘’I’m going to miss her, if I’m honest.’’

‘’Heads up,’’ Valkyrie says, and presses a quick kiss to Gamora’s lips. ‘’You never know, you might see her again. She’s a danger, now. She can have my ship, though – I’m sure she’ll find a nice use for it.’’

‘’Tracking and killing us?’’ Gamora suggests.

Valkyrie smiles. ‘’We’ll deal with that if it comes to it,’’ she says. ‘’Where did you leave the ship?’’

~*~

They’re sitting hand in hand, watching the planet grow smaller and smaller from the window. 

‘’I feel bad,’’ Gamora says. ‘’I wish she understood. We could have taken her somewhere safe. Now she’s going to tell my father about you, and we won’t be safe.’’

Valkyrie strokes the hand she’s holding. ‘’We’ll be long gone before she can find us,’’ she says. ‘’Nebula will find her own path, but if we want to be safe from the Grandmaster and your father, we’re going to have to disappear.’’

‘’It’s not going to be easy,’’ Gamora tells her, looking at her with heavy eyes. ‘’I’m well-known in some parts of the galaxy, and so are the Valkyrie. We need to find a place somewhere that isn’t familiar with either of us.’’

Valkyrie leans against Gamora’s shoulder. The long hair tickles her, a bit, but it’s soft and nice. She looks forward to playing with it, for some reason. ‘’We have time,’’ she says softly. ‘’And a spaceship.’’

Gamora laughs a little. She could grow used to the sound. ‘’I’m glad you trusted me, Val,’’ she says.

Valkyrie sits up a little bit straighter to kiss Gamora, properly this time. This time, she is not going to back away. ‘’Me too,’’ she just says. Talking about her feelings doesn’t come naturally to her, but judging by Gamora’s soft smile, she understands.

Maybe they can just be what they need for each other, if they’re open about their wants and needs. Valkyrie knows what she wants, and she’s not afraid to say it, anymore. She wants to stay with Gamora.

‘’Let’s find a new home,’’ she says.

Gamora’s gaze doesn’t leave hers. ‘’I’d like that,’’ is the answer.

Valkyrie knows she’s honest, and kisses her softly as they fly away together.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr as [tonystarrks](http://www.tonystarrks.tumblr.com).


End file.
